Pain Perdu: Classic French Toast vs Classic Black and White Cookie

Both desserts lean on milk, eggs, butter and sugar, but put them to very different work. In Pain Perdu, eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla form a custard that soaks into thick slices of stale brioche, which are pan-fried in butter until golden and lightly crisp outside, then dusted with powdered sugar, with maple syrup offered to serve. The Black and White Cookie creams butter with sugar and egg, rises with baking powder and bakes until lightly golden at the edges. Its powdered sugar becomes a smooth glaze, half left vanilla and half darkened with cocoa, for a clear contrast in every bite.